These things are mostly pointless until after free agency opens and the draft has concluded. Take Nicks and Colston off the Saints and they drop to the 10-12 range. Lots of moving and shaking will occur in the next 3 months, and that will drastically impact all the power rankings for week 1.

With T.J. Yates starting at quarterback and without our best defensive player on the field, I do agree the Texans should be at least 7 or 8. But if you're talking about all teams being healthy and since it's the off-season, I don't have any disagreements about the Texans being ranked number two overall and the best team in the AFC.

The expectations for this team should be "Super Bowl or Bust" entering the 2012 season. If it's not then they're not aiming high enough with the team goals entering training camp. I'll say this much: The Giants have no chance to win the Super Bowl with their third-string quarterback. The Texans went amazingly far given the circumstances. To be only two plays away from the AFC Championship game was impressive.

It's all about getting to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana for Super Bowl 47. Let the Texans have their well deserved vacation for now. Getting their bodies back healthy is important, but once it's time to go back to work I expect to see a certain level of swagger, confidence and determination out of this team.

I felt the Texans were the best team in the NFL (if healthy) last year but that didn't happen. They've fallen so far back in free agency with several notable names being lost it's hard for me to say right now. I'm thinking they're still the top team in the AFC South but that's not saying a whole lot. Too much of the unknown at the moment, especially the right side of the offensive line and Matt Schaub's foot holding up for a full 16 games in 2012.

I felt the Texans were the best team in the NFL (if healthy) last year but that didn't happen. They've fallen so far back in free agency with several notable names being lost it's hard for me to say right now. I'm thinking they're still the top team in the AFC South but that's not saying a whole lot. Too much of the unknown at the moment, especially the right side of the offensive line and Matt Schaub's foot holding up for a full 16 games in 2012.

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Everyone has unknowns 10 days after the start of FA. The AFC champs are high, as well, on the "damn, I ain't sure about this" list.

8 Broncos 8-8 If healthy, Peyton Manning should lift all of the Broncos' boats. We've already got them as tops in the division and they'll still be adding pieces around him.

9 Steelers 12-4 The salary cap crashed hard on the Steelers. But you can never count out this consistent franchise.

10 Bears 8-8 The Jay Cutler-Brandon Marshall combo will be hard for defenses to stop.

11 Saints 13-3 Saints fell nine spots in rankings from last season, tied with Oakland for the biggest drop of any team.

12 Eagles 8-8 The Eagles finally have a quality middle linebacker in DeMeco Ryans, whom they stole from Houston. And they have a happy DeSean Jackson.

13 Falcons 10-6 Falcons have to like their chances with the Saints reeling from sanctions levied in the bounty scandal.

14 Cowboys 8-8 The Cowboys have filled some holes through free agency, but they have more work to do. Atop the list: finding another pass-rusher.

15 Chargers 8-8 They did a nice job recovering from Vincent Jackson's departure. But the head coach is still the same and until Norv Turner breaks through with the Chargers, a lot of people are going to presume he cannot.

16 Titans 9-7 Added one veteran to both lines, but still need more help.

17 Chiefs 7-9 Getting healthy will make a big difference for the Chiefs, who are under new leadership with Romeo Crennel. But is that enough to make up ground in the AFC West?

18 Panthers 6-10 Can Cam Newton shatter expectations for a second season in a row?

19 Bengals 9-7 The Bengals haven't had back-to-back winning seasons in 30 years. But young guns Andy Dalton and A.J. Green aim to end the streak.

20 Jets 8-8 Tim Tebow-mania invades the Big Apple. But will Tebow help the Jets win games or cause a distraction?

21 Cardinals 8-8 Cardinals still hoping to win their bet on Kevin Kolb, but John Skelton will compete for the starting job.

22 Seahawks 7-9 Matt Flynn's acquisition in free agency gives the Seahawks fresh hope at quarterback for the first time in years.

23 Bills 6-10 The Bills are not done making improvements, but DE Mario Williams was a huge step in the right direction.

24 Buccaneers 4-12 Buccaneers jumped five spots in our rankings from last season after moving aggressively in free agency.

25 Redskins 5-11 By trading for the No. 2 pick in the draft, the Redskins and Mike Shanahan will finally have a legitimate quarterback around which to build.

26 Raiders 8-8 A new GM and a new coach are overseeing a roster that's been dented by a lot of salary-cap cuts. Carson Palmer's a question mark as they try to get it together.

27 Jaguars 5-11 The defense is near championship caliber. The offense is an entirely different story.

28 Dolphins 6-10 This once-promising team has been gutted by the front office.

Jets at #20, LOL. They'll win their opening game and ESPN will rocket them up to #7. Am I right?

Giants won only NINE reg season games but ended up winning all postseason games. I guess I didn't think they only had a 9-7 reg season record. Texans fans: Take notice, you don't have to go 11-5 or 12-4 or 13-3. You just need to win your division and get to the playoffs.

Yes, a 1st round bye is great...but it doesn't mean you necessarily end up winning the SB.

I still think we're top 10, but we'll have to see if the F.O. has destined this a "rebuilding year" or not.

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I think the term 'rebuilding year' is perhaps a bit wide of the mark, and something that the FO would deny. It does seem that the Texans are going to be following their traditional mantra of getting value guys in, and not overpaying for free agents. I don't expect to see household names replacing the guys who have left, so on that footing, I think it will be a continuation of previous policy.

Fact is, at the moment, regarding the Texans no one can make a judgment on where we finish next year. I could see us winning the Superbowl, or missing the playoffs altogether. With the questions about Schaub's health, how the units will form around new players and deal with loses, along with the intangibles that each season brings along - there is no way to know. We're all hoping for another step forward from last year, but any battle-hardened Texan knows that the most dangerous thing when following this team is having an expectation at either end of the spectrum.